Corporations are making the assumption that everyone uses a smartphone. For exam
ID: 3728944 • Letter: C
Question
Corporations are making the assumption that everyone uses a smartphone. For example, Quick Response (QR) codes can be found in magazines, on posters, and on brochures for all sorts of products. How does this perpetuate the negative outcomes created by the digital divide? What can companies do to change this perception of alienating a subpopulation of their customer base? What are the benefits and risks associated with a BYOD? Post a response of at least 150 words to this question by 6 pm on the fourth day of this week.
Explanation / Answer
QR codes have proved be a great revolution in the field of computing. They have help in increasing the efficiency in accessing online data for the users. Instead of using search engines and then getting bombarded with numerous results, advertisements and fake websites, QR codes provide an alternative way for the users to directly redirect themselves to the required page.
But in doing so and making things easier for the uses QR codes have also caused the widening of the digital divide.
QR codes have a very big limitation and that is it can be accessed only through some form of mobile device with a camera.
This is a very big disadvantage for the users who use phones without cameras as well as for the users who prefer working through their desktops and laptops.
The main aim of the technology is to provide opportunity to everyone and ensure digital equality in the world.
For example take a situation where a poor student is trying to access an educational website through computer in a cyber cafe aurai public library. But he cannot do so because he has got no Smartphone as well as the QR codes are not possible to be read using the computers. Or take the case of a man who is looking for a job and has got no Smartphone and hence is not able to access a website for filling his job application easily.
Moreover the QR codes also required applications to read them to be run on the smartphone which again decreases the device's efficiency.
Moreover the research on the African countries and some of the backward regions in Asia also found that the people were unable to recognise the QR codes given in the posters magazines and pamphlets and where quiet frustrated by this digital divide.
Also QR code becomes difficult to read if a portion of it is damaged or the lighting is bad while reading it through the smartphone. This also tends to cause frustration among the users.
Therefore while QR codes have proved to be beneficial, they have also contributed towards the increase in the digital divide in the population among those who have Smartphones and those who don't.
The digital divide created by the QR codes brought down the responsibility of not alienating the sub-population of customer base due to the digital divide fell on the shoulders of the companies and the advertisers.
The companies can make use of other Technologies, one of which is NFC or near field communication which can be used to transmit information through radio frequencies using a 0 power NFC tag installed in the advertisements.
Companies can also increase the use of image recognition applications as well as Augmented reality instead of using QR code as a method of advertisement.
Another alternative that the companies can be used to decrease the digital divide is use of universal product code or UPC. The universal product code has in barcode along with the string in the form of digits or alphabets. Those devices which have barcode reading have abilities can use the barcode reader where are those devices without search capabilities can use the string underneath the barcode to access the required website.
BYOD or Bring Your Own Device is prominently in use in today's world of Information and Technology and economic development.
The following are the benefits of BYOD
1. It helps in saving the money for the organisation that was being used to provide work stations and infrastructure to the employees in the office. The saved money in return can add to profit and we used to provide the employees bonus or can also be used for there welfare.
2. The employees are more comfortable to work on the devices that they personally use and know. This makes work faster and helps in increasing the productivity of the organisation as well as meeting deadlines.
3. Also the employees keep changing the devices with the change in technology in the market no one wants to keep old devices with them for a long period of time. Therefore the organisational work can be carried on more up today devices major latest and best in the segment.
The following are the risks associated with BYOD
1. There are always remains a risk of unwanted third party access to the devices where the family member or spouse can access the device and get to the sensitive organisational data of a company that is supposed to be private.
2. This device is remain with the customer all the time and hands organisation faces the risk of loss and leakage of data in case the customer loses the devices or it is stolen from him. This can cause a major security breach.
3. Sometimes the employees are careless towards updation of antivirus software and use of firewall. This is also a major security risk as the employees tend to make themselves vulnerable to attacks by hackers.
4. Outside of work, the employees are habituated with using unsecured Wi-Fi networks. The lack of encryption and security on this network scan for security threats and cost data breaches on the personal devices that is also being used for official work.